Floor



R. W. STORM v Feb. 13, 1934.

FLOOR Filed June 3, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 fiaymand/IU/orm F=b.13, 1934.R. w. STORM 1,946,646

- FLOOR v Filed June 3, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Feb. 13, 1934FLOOR Raymond W. Storm, Pelham Manor, N. Y.

Application June 3, 1932. Serial No. 615,229

18 Claims.

F The invention relates to floors and has as an .object the provision ofa wooden floor in which expansion is controlled.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a wooden floor whichconstitutes a continuous matted surface.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a wooden fioor madeofshort lengths of material laid in courses, the elements in each courseand adjacent courses being secured together by metal splinesinterlocking with the material of the elements.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a wooden fioor'thatmay be laid in mastic wherein buckling and yielding of the elementslaterally of the floor will be prevented.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a floor which may belaid cheaply and which will have its tendency to expand controlledirrespecgc tive of any means provided to hold the floor down upon'thebase.

Further objects of the invention will appear from the followingdescription when read in connection with the accompanying drawingsshowing illustrative embodiments of the invention and wherein: t Fig. 1is a plan view of the flo'or of the inven- Fig. 2 is a perspective viewshowing a section of subfloor, the ends of certain of the elements of acourse and the means used to interlock the elements and coursestogether; i Fig. 3 is a transverse section of certain of the elementsillustrating a modification; Fig. 4 is a perspective section of one ofthe elements showing a still further modification;

Fig. 5 is a detail sectional view showing a modi fied form of spline;

Figs. 6 and '7 are side views of still further modified forms of spline;and

Fig 8 is a plan view of a modified form of fioor. 7 i

Due to cheapness oi laying and reduction in thickness and weight, inrecent years floors have been commonly laid in mastic, A mastic floorsaves substantially two and one-half inches of thickness over aconstruction of the-old type comprising sleepers, cinders filledtherebetween, and underflooring. This results in the saving ofsubstantially one story in a fifty story building and in addition thefloor is prevented from rotting and consequent settling, and no space isleft for vermin to intrude. Floor loads are likewise consequentlydecreased and fire hazard is lessened. A disadvantage of mastic laidflooring is that there is no control over the expansion of the floorsurface and as the result. mastic laid floors are subject to bucklingand the units particularly at the outside of the room have been found toshift,

as a result of which defects of mastic floors the moisture content hashad to be very closely controlled; I 7

It is well understood that floors nailed to sleepers where the nailingis done conscientiously are not deleteriously afiected by expansion, theexpanding being controlled by the multitude of nails. By the presentinvention a floor may be laid in mastic with all of the consequentadvantages and still may have its expansion controlled so as to have allof the advantages of a nailed floor.

As shown the floor comprises a series of courses 10 of elementsdesirably in the form of tongued and grooved pieces of flooring, eachgrooved at each end and assembled with the side tongues and grooves inengagement. At an edge of the floorthere is shown a strip 11 which maybear a tongue to engage the grooves upon the ends of adjacent courses ofelements or which may preferably be provided with a metallic spline tobe described. Such a strip 11, not shown, is desirably applied at thefinishing edge of the floor and the strips 11 are preferably screwed ornailed to the subfloor.

After one of the courses 10 has been completed and assembled with thestrip 11, a. metallic spline -12 provided .with upstanding ridges 13 isdriven into the assembled groove in the end of the course 10 alreadylaid and so driven into the groove that the ridges 13 enter the materialof the elements. The body of the spline 12 is desirably substantiallythe same thickness as the height of the groove in the end of theelements.

After the spline has been inserted into the assembled course, the nextcourse of elements is laid with vtheir ends in position to be drivenupon the spline, the entire course being assembled with the 05 tonguesand grooves in engagement and being drawn together so as to make tightjoints after which each of the elements in the second thus assembledcourse is driven endwise so as to abut the ends of the first laidcourse, the driving resulting in the forcing of the ridges 13 in thematerial at one or both sides of the grooves in the elements.

It will be seen that after the elements are assembled they may be drivenupon the spline either singly or in groups, being free to slide at\their tongue and groove engagements during such driving. Subsequentcourses are laid in the same mannen,

As shown in Fig. 2 the spline 12 has ridges upon one surface only but itmay be formed as shown no in Fig. 3 with ridges upon both surfaces. Whenused upon one surface only the spline may be turned to bring the ridgeseither upon the upper or lower side of the spline.

As shown the ridges upon the spline are preferably formed by strikingthe material of the spline upwardly, which method of manufacture resultsin forming-a depression 14 upon one side of the ridge at the basethereof entering into the normal surface of the spline. When so formedan attempt of an element into which'the spline is entered to movelaterally as the result of the .force of expansion results in theforcing of the material of the element downwardly into said depression,thus providing an additional interlocking between the material of theelement and the spline.

As shown in Fig. 4 a brass angle piece 14 may be inserted into thegroove upon the top of the spline, the edge of the brass strip coming tothe surface of the floor to provide an armoring of the joint and toenhance the appearance of the floor. When this angle piece is'insertedupon a spline 12' having its ridges upon the upper surface, the ridges13' may be formed to a short distance only from the edge of the spline,the longitudinal center of the spline being left plain to provide forthe reception of the brass angle.

As shown in Fig. 5 the'spline is formed of a T cross section having theridges 15 upon the lower surface of the web and the extending portion ofthe T section projecting downwardly between the meeting ends of thefloor elements, the portions of said elements below the grooves beingcut back to permit of such, assembly. It will be understood that'the Tof this figure may be inverted and that the extending portion of the Tsection may come to the surface between the floor elements to serve asarmoring. This form of spline hasan advantage in that the stiffness ofthe spline additionally serves to prevent any warping of the floor.

In Fig. -6 the ridges 16 are shown standing vertically from the surfaceof the spline terminating at their crests in sharp edges and thedepressions 17 at their bases being formed by the striking up of thematerial of the ridges.

InFig. '7 the ridges 18 on one side of the spline slope in one directionand the ridges 19 on the opposite surface slope in the oppositedirection whereby to resist expansion of the flooring by the same mannerof. coaction as the ridges 13 of Fig. 2.

In Fig. 8 is shown a plan of a modified design of floor wherein certainelements are turned at right angles to certain other elementsin eachcourse, producing a block design. The splines between adjacent coursesare substantially continuous throughout the extent of the floor andshort splines 20 of the same character are placed at theend of eachblock. In' this form of the invention the ends of the courses as recitedin theclaims appended hereto are partially formed of the sides ofelements and partially of ends of elements consecutive courses beingjoined together by the splines 12.

It will be understood that the angle piece of Fig. 4 may be a T sectionor it may be a simple vertically extending brass strip nailed to theends of the elements of one of the courses during assembly.

Due to the interlocking of the flooring elements the tongues and groovesbetween the elements may be omitted if desired to provide a cheap andeflective form of floor.

- angle joint armor may then be placed upon its plain upper surfacewithout interruption of the ridges.

In Fig. 2 is also shown a sectional portion 21 of a concrete subfloorupon which the ifoor may be laid in mastic 22 in accordance with theusual practice in floor laying.

It is preferred that the splines in at least one dimension of the floorshall be actually continuous and integral from one side to the other forthe reason that if they extend through only three or four elements, theedges of the elements at the ends of the splines, will be free to expandand the combined expansion'at a plurality of such breaks in thecontinuity of the splines will defeat the major object of the invention.However in floors of greater extent than the lengths it is convenient tosecure in splines, it is necessary to use more than one piece of splineper joint. Also to avoid throwing away useful lengths of spline, it maybe necessary to utilize some lengths of less than the extent of thefloor. Therefore in the claims the words substantially continuous are tobe read, with these requirements in mind,

' to mean as nearly actually continuous as practicable. A

A floor constructed as described is ornamental in appearance, may belaid very cheaply, and being connected by metal at short intervalsthroughout its extent and extending continuously throughout the body ofthe floor intermediate of its thickness, the elements will be positivelyheld from movement caused by expansion or by any shifting where theelements are laid in mastic.

The floor may be given an added ornamental appearance by choice ofvarious colors of the elements arranged as desired. 115.

The floor may be laid upon cold mastic troweled upon the surface of thebase or each of the elements may have its lower surface dipped in hotmastic as it is laid or the floor may be successfully laid without anymeans of holding the same to the base. Since the floor comprises acontinuous mat with its elements interlocked, it will remain in place bythe action of gravity.

Minor changes may be made in the physical embodiments of the inventionwithin the scope of the appended claims without departing from thespirit thereof.

I claim:

l. A floor comprising, in combination: a plurality of abutting coursesof elements, each course comprising elements having grooved ends inalignment; splines inserted into the grooves of meeting ends of elementsin contiguous courses; said splines of a thickness to substantially fillsaid grooves and extending substantially continuously across the floor;raised portions carriedby one side of each spline, said portions engagedinto the material of the elements at one side of the grooves whereby toprevent separation of the elements of a course and to control expansionof the material of the elements.

2. A floor comprising, in combination: a plurality of abutting coursesof elements; the elements of each course having tongue and grooveconnection and grooved ends in alignment; substantially continuous metalsplines extending across the floor, each bearing on one side transverseridges formed with sharp crests and engaged in the meeting grooves ofcontiguous courses; said ridges engaging into the material 156 of theelements at one side of each groove whereby to control expansion oftheelements and to lock the courses together.

3. A floor comprising, in combination: a plurality of contacting coursesof elements; each course assembled with grooved edges inalignmentysubstantially continuous metal splines lythe adjacent ridges;said ridges engaged into the material of the element at one side of thegroove therein whereby to control expansion of the elements.

4. A fioor comprising, in combination: a plurality of contacting coursesof elements; each course assembled with grooved edges in alignment;substantially continuous metal splines lying in the meeting grooves ofcontiguous courses; said splines bearing ridges struck out of thematerial of the spline to provide sharp crests extending transversely ofthe spline, a side standing at an acute angle to the surface of thespline and a depression in the surface of the spline at the base of theridge; the acute angle of each ridge facing oppositely to the like angleof adjacent ridges; said ridges engaged into the material of theelements at one side of the grooves;

whereby force of attempted expansion of the ele-- ments forces materialthereof against said angled sides and into said depressions to preventmovements due to expansion.

5. A floor comprising, in combination: a plurality of contacting coursesof elements; each course assembled with grooved edges in-alignment;substantially continuous metal splines 1ying in the meeting grooves ofcontiguous courses, aemetal angle joint armor, the base of said anglelying upon the spline and entering the assembled groove in one of a pairof abutting courses and a vertical member of the angle standing in thejoint between said abutting courses with its upper edge flush with thesurface of the courses.

6. A floor comprising, in combination: a plurality of elements havinggrooved ends in alignment; a spline formed with transverse ridgesterminating in sharp crests and of a thickness to fill said grooves andextending substantially continuously across the floor; said splineengaged to a distance of substantially one-half of its width into saidgrooves; said crests engaged into the material of the elements at a sideof certain of said grooves; the remaining, half of said spline adaptedto engage a groove in an abutting element.

7, A fioor comprising, in combination: a plurality of elements havinggrooved ends in alignment; a spline extending substantially continuouslyacross the fioor engaged for substantially one-half its width in andfilling said grooves; said spline bearing transverse V-shaped ridgesengaged in the material of-the elements at a side of the groove; eachridge presenting an abrupt face in one direction; the abrupt facesuponcertain of said ridges facing oppositely to the likefaces of otherof said'ridges.

8. A floor comprising, in combination: a plurality of elements'h'avinggrooved ends in alignment; a spline engaged for substantially onehalfits width in and filling said grooves and extending substantiallycontinuously across the floor; said spline bearing transverse V-shapedformed with transverse ridges terminating in ridges engaged in thematerial of the elements at a side of the groove; each ridge presentingan abrupt face in one direction; the abrupt faces upon certain of saidridges facing oppositely to the like faces of other of said ridges, thema terial of each element engaged with at least one of eachdirection-facing ridges.

9. A fioor comprising, in combination: a plurality of elements havinggrooved ends in alignment; a spline engaged for substantially onehalfits width in and filling said grooves and extending substantiallycontinuously across the floor; said spline bearing transverse V-shapedridges engaged in the material of the elements at a side of the groove;each ridge presenting an abrupt face in one direction; the abrupt facesupon certain of said ridges facing oppositely to the like faces of otherof .said ridges, the material of each element engaged with a pluralityof each direction-facing ridges;

10. A floor unit comprising, in combination: a plurality of assembledelements having grooved ends in alignment; outside elements of the unithaving grooves in their exposed edges; splines sharp crests and of athickness to fill said grooves,

engaged in the grooves in the ends of said elements for substantiallyone-half the width of the splines and spanning the ends of all of theelements, of the unit; said ridges engaged into the material of theelements at a side of each groove;

f the remaining portions of the splines projecting v to be engaged in agroove in an abutting unit.

11. Means for controlling the expansion of a wooden structurecomprising: a metallic spline for engagement into a groove in thestructure; said spline formed with V-shaped transverse ridges eachextending across a substantial portion of the width thereof to be driveninto the material at one side of the groove; said ridges each presentingan abruptface in one direction to resist expansion forces by pressure ofthe fibres thereagainst;- the abrupt faces of certain of the ridgesdirected oppositely from like faces of other ridges.

12. Means for controlling the expansion of a wooden structurecomprising: a metallic spline for engagement into a groove in thestructure; said spline formed upon a side with V-shaped transverseridges struck up from the material Y of the spline presenting a facestanding at an angle of not more than 90 degrees from the. plane of thespline and with a groove at the base of each ridge one side of eachgroove being a continuation of the said face of the ridge; the

said faces of certain of the ridges facingoppositely from similar facesof other ridges upon the spline.

13. Means for controlling the expansion of a wooden structurecomprising: a metallic spline for engagement into a groove in thestructure; said spline formed upon opposite faces with V- shapedtransverse ridges each extending across ..a substantial portion of thewidth thereof to be 7 driven into the material at the sides of thegroove; said ridges each presenting an abrupt face in one direction toresist expansion forces by pressure of the fibers of the materialthereagainst; the said faces of the ridges upon opposite sides of the aspline facing oppositely from the like faces on the p15 remaining sideof the spline.

14. A composite wooden structure composed of a plurality of elementsplaced with the grain of the individual elements rimning in the samedirection and with aligned grooves in the end grain of the elements; incombination with a metallic spline lying in said grooves and continuousacross the ends of said elements; said spline formed with transverseridges having sharp crests and each having an abrupt face; said faces oncertain of the ridges oppositely directed from like faces of otherridges; said ridges engaged in the material of the elements at a side ofthe grooves substantially parallel with the grain thereof.

15. A floor comprising, in combination: a subfloor; a layer of adhesivemastic on said subfloor; a layer of flooring elements superposed uponand adhering to said mastic; and means to control expansion of saidelements and to prevent separation thereof comprising metallic tensionmembers located in passages formed in the material of the elementsbetween the upperand lower surfaces thereof; said tension membersrunning continuously across the fioorand transversely of the grain of asubstantial proportion of the elements,

and engaging the material of certain of the elements.

16. A floor comprising, in combination: a subfloor; a layer of adhesivemastic on said subfioor; a plurality of abutting courses of elementssuperposed upon and adhering to said mastic;

each course comprising elements having abutting grooved edges inalignment; certain of said elements presenting end grain at said edges;and means to control expansion of the elements and to prevent separationthereof comprising splines located in said grooves and runningsubstantially continuously along said abutting edges; said splinesformed with projections from a face at a side of said grooves.

thereof engaging in the materialof the elements 17. A floor unitcomprisingyin combination: a plurality of assembled elements havinggrooved ends in alignment; splines of a thickness to fill said groovesengaged'in said grooves forsubstantially one-half the width of thesplines and spanning all of the elements of the unit; raised portionscarried by a side of each spline, each extending across a substantialportion 'of the width thereof and engaging the material of the elementsat a side of each groove to hold the unit in assembly and to controlexpansion of the elements; the excess width of the splines projecting tobe engaged in a groove in an abutting unit.

18. A floor unit comprising, in combination:

a plurality of assembled elements having grooved ends in-alignment;splines of a thickness to fill said grooves engaged in said grooves forsubstantially one-half the width of the splines and spanning all of theelements of ,the unit; raised portions carried by a side of each spline,each extending across a substantial portion of the width thereof,presenting face s rising abruptly from the surface of the splines facingalternately in opposite directions, and engaging the material'of theelements at a side of each groove to hold the unit in assembly and tocontrol expansion of the elements; the excess width of the splinesprojecting to be engaged in a groove, in an abutting unit.

RAYMOND W. STORM.

